A summary of reports from a consultant hired by the state indicates state officials were warned early and often that the project lacked leadership, there was no master plan to build the exchange, and no one did end-to-end tests to see if it actually worked.

Newly released documents regarding the failed rollout prompted lawmakers to postpone a hearing for two weeks to give state lawyers time to redact proprietary information and committee members time to read all the material.

"I think there has been a lot of error in human judgment when you look at the audit reports that there has been some mismanagement," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mac Middleton said.

The state hired consultant Berry-Dunn to provide system progress reports. In December 2012, the firm started sending state officials report cards, the very first of which cited confusion over points of contact, meeting schedules, a lack of a program manager and details on the project plan.

In every monthly report as late as March 2013, Berry-Dunn repeated those same concerns and added new ones: Inefficient communication between project teams, power struggles within the state team, and infighting between contractors as having a negative impact on project results.

A federal civil lawsuit indicates general contractor Noridian fired EngagePoint allegedly for refusing to do critical work, then attempted to hire EngagePoint employees to finish the job.

"During this time, there was inadequate progress fixing the defects identified during user testing," state Health Secretary Dr. Joshua Sharfstein said on Tuesday.

Report cards over the summer cited the same unresolved issues: Log-on problems, self-registration and identity proofing behind schedule. Additionally, call center circuits were not delivered until the rollout day, and two weeks is needed to install. There was no contingency plan in case of failure.

Sharfstein told legislators he tested the system himself in September and became concerned about the October launch.

The consultant's September report cited concerns that no performance testing was being conducted and no defined procedure was in place to upgrade without deleting existing data. There was no guidance on what functions they will find acceptable Oct. 1.

On Sept. 26, the consultant pleaded with state officials to minimize the scope of the rollout to mitigate risks.

Project manager Rebecca Pearce responded, "I remain comfortable with our plan to move forward." She stated a lack of confidence the system would initially work as planned.

In a letter, Pearce wrote: "Following successful account creation, the user will not be able to go directly to the application itself. Instead the user will receive an email with a link to the application and should be aware that glitches might happen."

"There needs to be an investigation on what went wrong here, and unfortunately, politics has reared its head as everybody is trying to cover their backside," Senate Minority Leader David Brinkley said.

Insurance carriers set a Tuesday deadline to sign up for retroactive coverage.

THIS SUMMARY OF REPORTS FROM A CONSULTANT HIRED BY THE STATE INDICATES OFFICIALS WERE WARNED EARLY AND OFTEN THE PROJECT LACKED LEADERSHIP. THERE IS NO MASTER PLAN TO BUILD THE EXCHANGE. THE REPORT SAYS NO ONE DID AN END-TO-END TEST TO SEE IF IT WORKED. ALARMS, RED FLAGS, AND WARNINGS. DISCLOSURES AND DOCUMENTS REGARDING THE FAILED ROLLOUT OF THE MARYLAND HEALTH CONNECTION. THESE AND OTHER PAPERS ARE CITED BY THE CHAIR OF THE SENATE FINANCE COMMITTEE AS TO WHY A HEARING IS BEING POSTPONED. LAWYERS OVER DEKED FRONT -- I THINK THERE HAS BEEN ERROR AND HUMAN JUDGMENT. THERE HAS BEEN SOME MISMANAGEMENT. THE STATE HIRED BARRY DONE TO PROVIDE PROGRESS REPORTS. IN DECEMBER THEY STARTED SENDING STATE OFFICIALS REPORT CARD. THE FIRST ONE CITED CONFUSION OVER POINTS OF CONTACT. A LACK OF A PROGRAM MANAGER, AND DETAILS ON THE PROJECT PLAN ITSELF. EVERY MONTHLY REPORT , HE REPEATED THE SAME CONCERNS. HE ADDED A NEW ONE. INEFFICIENT COMMUNICATION BETWEEN TEAMS. POWER STRUGGLES IN THE STATES. AND INFIGHTING BETWEEN CONTRACTORS HAVING A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON PROJECT REVOLVES -- PROJECT RESULTS. THE RADIANT FIRED ENGAGE POINT -- THERE WAS INADEQUATE PROGRESS IDENTIFIED IN TESTING. LOGON PROBLEMS, IDENTITY PROOFING, IT CIRCUITS NOT DELIVERED UNTIL THE ROLLOUT. TWO WEEKS IS NEEDED TO INSTALL THEM. NO CONTINGENCY PLAN IN CASE OF FAILURE. THE HEALTH SECRETARY TOLD INVESTIGATORS HE WAS CONCERNED OF THE OCTOBER LAUNCH. THE CONSULTANT CITED CONCERNS NO PERFORMANCE TESTING WAS BEING CONDUCTED. NO PROCEDURE IN PLACE TO UPGRADE WITHOUT DELETING DATA. NO GUIDANCE ON WHAT FUNCTIONS THEY WILL FIND ACCEPTABLE. THE CONSULTANT PLEADED WITH STATE OFFICIALS TO MINIMIZE THE SCOPE OF THE ROLLOUT TO MITIGATE RISKS. AN OPPORTUNITY FOR MARYLANDERS. SHE STATED A LACK OF CONFIDENCE THE SYSTEM WOULD INITIALLY WORK AS PLANNED. FOLLOWING SUCCESSFUL ACCOUNT CREATION THE USER WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE APPLICATION ITSELF. THE USER WILL RECEIVE AN E-MAIL WITH A LINK TO THE APPLICATION. THEY SHOULD BE AWARE THAT GLITCHES MIGHT HAPPEN. BENEFIT -- DENNIS PITTA INVESTIGATION. AN INQUIRY INTO WHAT WENT